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The wit and wisdom of Gibson's Friday night

PHOENIX -- Welcome to a day in the life of D-backs manager Kirk Gibson.

Following Friday's 5-1 victory against Giants, Gibson enjoyed some downtime, had a few laughs with comedian Lewis Black at a gathering, then spent 15 minutes on the phone with former manager Tony La Russa, not long after the Cardinals retired his number during a pregame ceremony in St. Louis.

Black and friends were texting with La Russa when they decided it would be a good idea to get the two baseball minds on the phone together.

"We just got to talking that it's really about the second half the season, which he would certainly have a fresh memory doing it," Gibson said. "You don't want to totally disintegrate in the first half, you want to be like the Dodgers. We're not, but at the same time, we keep pushing, keep trying to get better and play better baseball. You start winning one-run games and be more consistent with pitching and fundamentals. You try to build momentum into the season. You do not want to get too far behind."

It was a busy day for La Russa. His number No. 10 became the 12th number to be retired by the Cardinals and is now displayed on the brick wall in right-center field at Busch Stadium with the other 11 numbers honored. La Russa, who won 1,408 games with St. Louis and led them to two World Series titles, ranks third all-time among managers with 2,728 wins.

"He's feeling good," Gibson said. "Tony set a high standard for himself. We competed again each other for a long time. He said he is going to stop by at some point. He's traveling around and he'll stop by. Anything he has to share is always interesting. ... He's a good baseball man, good mind and a good friend."

Black, who Gibson said has been a Dodgers fan since they were in Brooklyn, is in town for a fund-raising event.

"It was a pretty good day for us," Gibson said. "We had a good game [Friday], went and chilled out and got some comedy and humor in me and then some wisdom."

PHOENIX -- Welcome to a day in the life of D-backs manager Kirk Gibson.

Following Friday's 5-1 victory against Giants, Gibson enjoyed some downtime, had a few laughs with comedian Lewis Black at a gathering, then spent 15 minutes on the phone with former manager Tony La Russa, not long after the Cardinals retired his number during a pregame ceremony in St. Louis.

Black and friends were texting with La Russa when they decided it would be a good idea to get the two baseball minds on the phone together.

"We just got to talking that it's really about the second half the season, which he would certainly have a fresh memory doing it," Gibson said. "You don't want to totally disintegrate in the first half, you want to be like the Dodgers. We're not, but at the same time, we keep pushing, keep trying to get better and play better baseball. You start winning one-run games and be more consistent with pitching and fundamentals. You try to build momentum into the season. You do not want to get too far behind."

It was a busy day for La Russa. His number No. 10 became the 12th number to be retired by the Cardinals and is now displayed on the brick wall in right-center field at Busch Stadium with the other 11 numbers honored. La Russa, who won 1,408 games with St. Louis and led them to two World Series titles, ranks third all-time among managers with 2,728 wins.

"He's feeling good," Gibson said. "Tony set a high standard for himself. We competed again each other for a long time. He said he is going to stop by at some point. He's traveling around and he'll stop by. Anything he has to share is always interesting. ... He's a good baseball man, good mind and a good friend."

Black, who Gibson said has been a Dodgers fan since they were in Brooklyn, is in town for a fund-raising event.

"It was a pretty good day for us," Gibson said. "We had a good game [Friday], went and chilled out and got some comedy and humor in me and then some wisdom."

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.